The Life of George Washington, Vol. 1 (of 5)
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[Footnote 156: Fussel.]
In no part of his majesty's dominions was the new administration more
popular than in his American colonies. Deeply and peculiarly
interested in the events of the war, they looked for a change of
fortune from this change of men, and cheerfully made every exertion,
of which they were capable, for the ensuing campaign. The circular
letter of Mr. Pitt assured the several governors that, to repair the
losses and disappointments of the last inactive campaign, the cabinet
was determined to send a formidable force, to operate by sea and land,
against the French in America; and he called upon them to raise as
large bodies of men, within their respective governments, as the
number of inhabitants might allow. Arms, ammunition, tents,
provisions, and boats, would, he said, be furnished by the crown; and
he required the colonies to clothe and pay their men; assuring them,
at the same time, that it should be recommended to parliament to make
them compensation.
[Sidenote: Great preparations for the campaign.]
The legislature of Massachusetts agreed to furnish seven thousand men;
Connecticut five thousand; and New Hampshire three thousand. These
troops, great as were their numbers, when compared with the population
of the country, were in the field early in May; and the transports for
carrying those of Massachusetts to Halifax, were ready to sail in
fifteen days after they were engaged. Near one-third of the effective
men of that province, are said to have been in military service; and
the taxes were so heavy that, in the capital, they amounted to
two-thirds of the income of real estate.[157]
[Footnote 157: Minot.]
[Sidenote: Admiral Boscawen and General Amherst arrive.]
In the mother country too, the utmost activity was transfused into
every department. Her fleets blocked up in the French ports the men
and stores designed for Canada, and captured, on the seas, most of
those which had been able to make their way into the ocean. At the
same time, a powerful armament, equipped with unusual expedition,
sailed from her ports. Early in the spring, admiral Boscawen arrived
at Halifax with a formidable fleet, and twelve thousand British
troops, under the command of general Amherst.
The earl of Loudoun had returned to England, and the command of the
British and American forces in the colonies, had devolved on general
Abercrombie. That officer found himself at the head of the most
powerful army ever seen in the new world. His whole numbers,
comprehending troops of every description, have been computed by Mr.
Belsham at fifty thousand men, of whom twenty thousand were
provincials.
The objects of the campaign were no longer defeated by delays. The
preparations for action were made during the winter, and military
operations commenced in the spring.
[Sidenote: Plan of the campaign.]
Three expeditions were proposed. The first was against Louisbourg; the
second against Ticonderoga and Crown Point; and the third against fort
Du Quesne.[158]
[Footnote 158: Minot. Belknap.]
[Sidenote: Expedition against Louisbourg.]
The army destined against Louisbourg, consisting of fourteen thousand
men, was commanded by major general Amherst; and the fleet, consisting
of twenty ships of the line and eighteen frigates, by admiral
Boscawen. On the 24th of May, the troops embarked at Halifax; and, on
the 2d of June, arrived before Louisbourg.
The use made by Great Britain of her naval superiority was felt in no
part of the possessions of his Most Christian Majesty more sensibly
than in Louisbourg. The garrison of that important place was composed
of only two thousand five hundred regulars, aided by six hundred
militia. The harbour was defended by five ships of the line; one ship
of fifty guns; and five frigates, three of which were sunk across the
mouth of the basin.
Soon after investment of the place, one of the large ships was set on
fire by a bomb from a battery on the light house point, and blown up.
The flames were communicated to two others which shared the same fate.
The English admiral then sent a detachment of six hundred seamen, in
boats, into the harbour, under captains La Forcey and Balfour, to make
an attempt on the two remaining ships of the line, which still kept
possession of the basin. This service was executed with great
gallantry. One, which was aground, was destroyed, and the other was
towed off in triumph.
The harbour being in possession of the English, and several
practicable breaches made in the works, the place was no longer deemed
defensible, and the governor was under the necessity of capitulating.
The garrison became prisoners of war, and Louisbourg, with its
artillery, provisions and military stores; and also Island Royal, St.
Johns, and their dependencies, were surrendered to the English, who
encountered no farther difficulty in taking possession of the whole
island.[159]
[Footnote 159: Minot. Belknap. Belsham. Russel.]
This important acquisition was made with the loss of between five and
six hundred men, killed and wounded. The joy it diffused throughout
the colonies, long familiarised to disaster, was in proportion to
their former disappointments.
[Sidenote: Against Ticonderoga.]
The expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point was conducted by
general Abercrombie in person. His army, consisting of near sixteen
thousand effectives, of whom nine thousand were provincials, was
attended by a formidable train of artillery, and possessed every
requisite to ensure success.
On the 5th of July, he embarked on lake George, and reached the
landing place early the next morning. A disembarkation being effected
without opposition, the troops were immediately formed into four
columns, the British in the centre, and the Provincials on the flanks;
in which order they marched towards the advanced guard of the French,
composed of one battalion posted in a log camp, which, on the approach
of the English, made a precipitate retreat.
Abercrombie continued his march towards Ticonderoga, with the
intention of investing that place; but, the woods being thick, and the
guides unskilful, his columns were thrown into confusion, and, in some
measure, entangled with each other. In this situation lord Howe, at
the head of the right centre column, fell in with a part of the
advance guard of the French, which, in retreating from lake George,
was likewise lost in the wood. He immediately attacked and dispersed
them; killing several, and taking one hundred and forty-eight
prisoners, among whom were five officers.
This small advantage was purchased at a dear rate. Though only two
officers, on the side of the British, were killed, one of these was
lord Howe himself, who fell on the first fire. This gallant young
nobleman had endeared himself to the whole army. The British and
provincials alike lamented his death; and the assembly of
Massachusetts passed a vote for the erection of a superb cenotaph to
his memory, in the collegiate church of Westminster, among the heroes
and patriots of Great Britain.
Without farther opposition, the English army took possession of the
post at the Saw Mills, within two miles of Ticonderoga. This fortress,
which commands the communication between the two lakes, is encompassed
on three sides by water, and secured in front by a morass. The
ordinary garrison amounting to four thousand men, was stationed under
the cannon of the place, and covered by a breast-work, the approach to
which had been rendered extremely difficult by trees felled in front,
with their branches outward, many of which were sharpened so as to
answer the purpose of chevaux-de-frize. This body of troops was
rendered still more formidable by its general than by its position. It
was commanded by the marquis de Montcalm.
Having learned from his prisoners the strength of the army under the
walls of Ticonderoga, and that a reinforcement of three thousand men
was daily expected, general Abercrombie thought it advisable to storm
the place before this reinforcement should arrive. Being informed by
an engineer directed to reconnoitre the works, that they were
unfinished, and were practicable, he resolved, without waiting for his
artillery, to storm the lines; and the dispositions for an assault
were instantly made.
The rangers, the light infantry, and the right wing of the
provincials, were ordered to form a line out of cannon shot of the
intrenchments, with their right extending to lake George, and their
left to lake Champlain. The regulars who were to storm the works, were
formed in the rear of this line. The piquets were to begin the attack,
and to be sustained by the grenadiers; and the grenadiers by the
battalions. The whole were ordered to march up briskly, to rush upon
the enemy's fire, and to reserve their own until they had passed the
breast-work.
The troops marched to the assault with great intrepidity; but their
utmost efforts could make no impression on the works. The impediments
in front of the intrenchments retarded their advance, and exposed
them, while entangled among the boughs of the trees, to a very galling
fire. The breast-work itself was eight or nine feet high, and much
stronger than had been represented; so that the assailants, who do not
appear to have been furnished with ladders, were unable to pass it.
After a contest of near four hours, and several repeated attacks,
general Abercrombie ordered a retreat.
[Sidenote: General Abercrombie repulsed under the walls of
Ticonderoga.]
The army retired to the camp from which it had marched in the morning;
and, the next day, resumed its former position on the south side of
lake George.[160]
[Footnote 160: Letter of general Abercrombie.]
In this rash attempt, the killed and wounded of the English amounted
to near two thousand men, of whom not quite four hundred were
provincials. The French were covered during the whole action, and
their loss was inconsiderable.[161]
[Footnote 161: Minot. Belknap.]
Entirely disconcerted by this unexpected and bloody repulse, General
Abercrombie relinquished his designs against Ticonderoga and Crown
Point. Searching however for the means of repairing the misfortune, if
not the disgrace, sustained by his arms, he readily acceded to a
proposition made by colonel Bradstreet, for an expedition against fort
Frontignac. This fortress stands on the north side of Ontario, at the
point where the St. Lawrence issues from that lake; and though a post
of real importance, had been left, in a great degree, undefended.
The detachment designed for this service was commanded by colonel
Bradstreet. It consisted of three thousand men, of whom two hundred
were British, and was furnished with eight pieces of cannon, and three
mortars.
[Sidenote: Fort Frontignac taken.]
Colonel Bradstreet embarked on the Ontario at Oswego, and on the 25th
of August, landed within one mile of the fort. In two days, his
batteries were opened at so short a distance that almost every shell
took effect; and the governor, finding the place absolutely untenable,
surrendered at discretion. The Indians having deserted, the prisoners
amounted only to one hundred and ten men. A great quantity of military
stores, together with nine armed vessels, mounting from eight to
eighteen guns, also fell into the hands of the English.[162]
[Footnote 162: Letter of colonel Bradstreet.]
After destroying the fort and vessels, and such stores as could not be
brought off, colonel Bradstreet returned to the army which undertook
nothing farther during the campaign.
[Sidenote: Expedition against Fort Du Quesne.]
The demolition of fort Frontignac and of the stores which had been
collected there, contributed materially, to the success of the
expedition against fort Du Quesne. The conduct of this enterprise had
been entrusted to general Forbes, who marched from Philadelphia, about
the beginning of July, at the head of the main body of the army,
destined for this service, in order to join colonel Bouquet at
Raystown. So much time was employed in preparing to move from this
place, that the Virginia regulars, commanded by colonel Washington,
were not ordered to join the British troops until the month of
September. It had been determined not to use the road made by
Braddock, but to cut a new one from Raystown to fort du Quesne. About
the time this resolution was formed, and before the army was put in
motion, major Grant was detached from the advanced post at Loyal
Hannan with eight hundred men, to reconnoitre the fort and the
adjacent country. This gentleman invited an attack from the garrison,
the result of which was that upwards of three hundred of the
detachment were killed and wounded, and major Grant himself was made a
prisoner.[163]
[Footnote 163: MSS.]
[Sidenote: Fort Du Quesne evacuated.]
Early in October general Forbes moved from Raystown; but the
obstructions to his march were so great that he did not reach fort Du
Quesne until late in November. The garrison, being deserted by the
Indians, and too weak to maintain the place against the formidable
army which was approaching, abandoned the fort the evening before the
arrival of the British, and escaped down the Ohio in boats. The
English placed a garrison in it, and changed its name to Pittsburg, in
compliment to their popular minister. The acquisition of this post was
of great importance to Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. Its
possession had given the French an absolute control over the Indians
of the Ohio, who were accustomed to assemble at that place, for the
purpose of making their destructive incursions into those colonies.
Their route was marked by fire and the scalping knife; and neither age
nor sex could afford exemption from their ferocity. The expulsion of
the French gave the English entire possession of the country, and
produced a complete revolution in the disposition of the Indians
inhabiting it. Finding the current of success to be running against
their ancient friends, they were willing to reconcile themselves to
the most powerful; and all the Indians between the lakes and the Ohio
concluded a peace with the English.
Although the events of 1758 did not equal the expectations which had
been formed from the force brought into the field, the advantages were
decisive. The whole country constituting the original cause of the
war, had changed masters, and was in possession of the English. The
acquisition of the island of Cape Breton opened the way to Quebec; and
their success in the west enabled them to direct all their force
against Canada. The colonists, encouraged by this revolution in their
affairs, and emboldened, by the conquests already made, to hope for
others still more extensive, prepared vigorously on the application of
Mr. Pitt, for the farther prosecution of the war.
[Sidenote: General Amherst succeeds General Abercrombie.]
Late in the year 1758, general Abercrombie was succeeded in the
command of the army by major general Amherst, who formed the bold plan
of conquering Canada in the course of the ensuing campaign.
{1759}
[Sidenote: Plan of the campaign.]
The decided superiority of Great Britain at sea, and the great
exertions of France in other quarters of the world, still prevented
the arrival of such reinforcements as were necessary for the
preservation of his most christian majesty's possessions in North
America. To take advantage of this weakness, the English proposed to
enter Canada by three different routes, with three powerful armies;
and to attack all the strongholds by which that country was defended.
It was determined that one division of the army, to be commanded by
brigadier general Wolfe, a young officer who had signalised himself in
the siege of Louisbourg, should ascend the St. Lawrence, and lay siege
to Quebec. A strong fleet was to escort the troops destined for this
enterprise, and to co-operate with them.
Major general Amherst was to lead the central and main army against
Ticonderoga and Crown Point. After making himself master of these
places, he was to proceed over lake Champlain, and by the way of
Richelieu, to the St. Lawrence, and down that river, so as to effect a
junction with general Wolfe before the walls of Quebec. From their
combined force, the conquest of the capital of Canada was expected.
The third army was to be commanded by general Prideaux. Its first
destination was against Niagara. After the reduction of this place,
Prideaux was to embark on lake Ontario, and proceed down the St.
Lawrence against Montreal. Should Montreal fall into his hands before
the surrender of Quebec, he was to join the grand army at that
place.[164]
[Footnote 164: Minot. Belknap. Belsham. Russel. Entic.]
It could not be expected that a plan so extensive and so complex,
should succeed in all its parts; and it was greatly to be apprehended,
that the failure of one part might defeat the whole. But it suited the
daring spirit which eminently distinguished the officers then
commanding the British forces, and was entered upon with zeal and
activity.
[Sidenote: Ticonderoga abandoned.]
As the other two expeditions, especially that against Quebec, were
supposed to depend greatly on the celerity with which the movements of
the main army should be made, general Amherst began his preparations
in the commencement of winter, for the enterprise he was to undertake.
Early in the spring, he transferred his head quarters from New York to
Albany, where his troops were assembled by the last of May.
Notwithstanding his continued exertions, the summer was far advanced
before he could cross lake George; nor did he reach Ticonderoga until
the 22d of July. The lines drawn around that place were immediately
abandoned, and the English took possession of them.
The French troops in this quarter being unequal to the defence of the
posts they held, their object seems to have been to embarrass and
delay the invading army; but not to hazard any considerable diminution
of strength, by persevering in the defence of places until the retreat
of the garrison should become impracticable. The hope was entertained,
that by retreating from post to post, and making a show of intending
to defend each, the advance of the English might be retarded, until
the season for action on the lakes should pass away; while the French
would be gradually strengthened by concentration, and thus enabled to
maintain some point, which would arrest the progress of Amherst down
the St. Lawrence.
In pursuance of this plan, as soon as the English had completed their
arrangements for taking possession of lake Champlain, the garrison of
Ticonderoga retreated to Crown Point.
[Sidenote: and Crown Point.]
Early in the month of August, Amherst advanced to Crown Point, which
was abandoned on his approach; and the garrison retired to isle Aux
Noix, at the northern extremity of lake Champlain. The French had
collected between three and four thousand men at this place, in an
entrenched camp, defended by artillery, and protected by several armed
vessels on the lake. After making great exertions to obtain a naval
superiority, General Amherst embarked his army on lake Champlain; but,
a succession of storms compelling him to abandon the farther
prosecution of the enterprise, he returned to Crown Point, where the
troops were put into winter quarters.[165]
[Footnote 165: Minot. Belknap. Belsham. Russel. New York
Gazette.]
In the beginning of July, general Prideaux, embarked on lake Ontario
with the army destined against Niagara. Immediately after his
departure from Oswego, that place, which was defended by twelve
hundred men under the command of colonel Haldiman, was vigorously
attacked by a body of French and Indians, who were repulsed with some
loss.
In the mean time, Prideaux proceeded towards Niagara, and landed
without opposition, about three miles from the fort. The place was
invested in form, and the siege was carried on by regular approaches.
In its progress, General Prideaux was killed by the bursting of a
cohorn, and the command devolved on general Johnson. Great efforts
were made to relieve this important place. A considerable body of
troops drawn from the neighbouring garrisons, aided by some Indian
auxiliaries, advanced on the English army, with the determination to
risk a battle, in order to raise the siege. Early in the morning of
the 24th, the approach of this party was announced, and a strong
detachment marched out to meet it. The action, which immediately
commenced, was not of long duration. The French were forsaken by their
savage allies, and victory soon declared in favour of the English.
[Sidenote: Niagara capitulates.]
This battle decided the fate of Niagara. The works of the besiegers
had been pushed within one hundred yards of the walls, and a farther
attempt to defend the place being hopeless, a capitulation was signed,
by which the garrison, amounting to rather more than six hundred men,
became prisoners of war.
Although important advantages were gained by the British arms in Upper
Canada, yet, as neither division of the army, in that quarter,
succeeded so completely as to co-operate with general Wolfe, serious
fears were entertained for the fate of that officer. The enterprise
conducted by him being of the greatest hazard and of the deepest
interest, its success was to decide, whether the whole campaign would
terminate in a manner favourable to the future conquest of Canada.
[Sidenote: Expedition against Quebec.]
As soon as the waters were sufficiently freed from ice to be
navigable, Wolfe embarked eight thousand men with a formidable train
of artillery, at Louisbourg, under convoy of admirals Saunders and
Holmes. Late in June, he anchored about half way up the island of
Orleans, on which he landed, without opposition.
From this position, he could take a near and accurate view of the
obstacles to be surmounted, before he could hope for success in his
enterprise. These were so great, that even his bold and sanguine
temper perceived more to fear than to hope; and, in a celebrated
letter written to Mr. Pitt, and afterwards published, he declared that
he could not flatter himself with being able to reduce the place.[166]
[Footnote 166: Belsham.]
Quebec stands on the north side of the St. Lawrence, and on the west
of the St. Charles, which rivers unite immediately below the town. It
consists of an upper and a lower town; the latter is built upon the
strand, which stretches along the base of the lofty rock, on which the
former is situated. This rock continues, with a bold and steep front,
far to the westward, parallel to, and near the river St. Lawrence. On
this side, therefore, the city might well be deemed inaccessible. On
the other, it was protected by the river St. Charles, in which were
several armed vessels, and floating batteries, deriving additional
security from a strong boom drawn across its mouth. The channel of
this river is rough and broken, and its borders intersected with
ravines. On its left, or eastern bank, was encamped a French army,
strongly entrenched, and amounting, according to the English accounts,
to ten thousand men.[167] The encampment extended from St. Charles,
eastward, to the Montmorency, and its rear was covered by an almost
impenetrable wood. To render this army still more formidable, it was
commanded by a general, who had given signal proofs of active courage,
and consummate prudence. The marquis de Montcalm, who, when strong
enough to act offensively, had so rapidly carried Oswego, and fort
William Henry, and who, when reduced to the defensive, had driven
Abercrombie with such slaughter from the walls of Ticonderoga, was now
at the head of the army which covered Quebec, and was an antagonist,
in all respects, worthy of Wolfe.
[Footnote 167: These accounts must be exaggerated. According
to the letter of general Townshend, the force engaged on the
Plains of Abraham amounted to three thousand five hundred
men; and not more than fifteen hundred are stated to have
been detached under Bougainville.]
The British general perceived these difficulties in their full extent,
but, his ardent mind glowing with military enthusiasm, sought only how
to subdue them.
He took possession of Point Levi, on the southern side of the St.
Lawrence, where he erected several heavy batteries, which opened on
the town, but were at too great a distance to make any considerable
impression on the works. Nor could his ships be employed in this
service. The elevation of the principal fortifications placed them
beyond the reach of the guns of the fleet; and the river was so
commanded by the batteries on shore, as to render a station near the
town ineligible.
The English general, sensible of the impracticability of reducing
Quebec, unless he should be enabled to erect his batteries on the
north side of the St. Lawrence, determined to use his utmost
endeavours to bring Montcalm to an engagement. After several
unavailing attempts to draw that able officer from his advantageous
position, Wolfe resolved to pass the Montmorency, and to attack him in
his entrenchments.